Two U.S. officials shot and wounded by Mexican federal police just south of the capital were CIA officers, security sources say, and the attack could badly hurt U.S.-Mexico cooperation in a war against drug cartels if found to be a deliberate ambush.
The pair of experienced officers were on their way to a Mexican Marine base on Friday, working with local authorities on a training mission, when federal police riddled their armored van bearing diplomatic plates with bullets.
The men, traveling with a Mexican Marine captain, were wounded and taken to a hospital for treatment, though their injuries were not life threatening. Television footage showed the vehicle strafed with bullet marks, its tires and rear window shot out.
A dozen federal police officers detained and questioned over the attack have been ordered held in custody for 40 days, and in initial statements to federal prosecutors they claimed they confused the Americans for criminals.
However, eyewitnesses at a bend in the road outside the small town
